Ghastly
by Nehh Loves You
Summary: Uryuu Ishida is a detective working with partner Orihime Inoue. He comes across a murder: the work of a new serial killer. The scene is just like any other murder, until he meets... a ghost? AU IchiIshi Dead characters. Maturish Content
1. Murder He Wrote

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Boo

Pairings: Pairings: Byakuya x Renji, eventual IchiIshi

Warning: MxM, maturish content, violence, probably some language issues, typos, bad writing, Orihime, general stupidity, ghosts, dead characters... no boy kissing :( Don't like, don't read

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_Uryuu Ishida pushed his glassed up the bridge of his nose as he surveyed the scene. He began scratching observations in his notebook: lots of blood, no signs of struggle, forced entry. He glanced up to see his partner crouched on the floor, poised to paw at something near the body. "Inoue! Put some gloves on!" He rolled his eyes. 'Five years on the job and she still touches possible evidence with her bare hands?'

Orihime looked startled. "But Ishida-kun, it's just a crayon."

"Yes, and that crayon could put the killed in prison. Put some gloves on _now_." Uryuu traded his notebook for the camera hanging around his neck and started snapping photographs of the body.

"Um, Detective Ishida?" A short, dark haired man appeared at Uryuu's side. He looked young, probably a trainee from the department.

Uryuu let the camera once again rest against his stomach. "Yes?"

"The victim..." The trainee paused, waiting for a cue to continue. Uryuu nodded, and he rattled off the information. "His name is Ichigo Kurosaki. Almost twenty-six years old. Lived with a man named Renji Abarai."

"Where is the roommate?"

"We haven't been able to locate him yet."

Uryuu raised an eyebrow."

"But we will soon, sir!"

"Who reported the murder?"

"The killer, sir. We obtained the recording of the 911 call; the man said he had 'done it again.'"

"Thank you, ah... What is your name?"

The trainee's eyes widened, honored that a detective asked his name. "Hanataro Yamada, sir!"

"Thank you, Hanataro."

The young man nodded enthusiastically and scurried away.

Uryuu turned back to the victim. Vivid orange hair covered empty, rust colored eyes. His body was splayed awkwardly across the living room carpet, soaking it and the surrounding wood floor in blood. A splintered bat lay next to him, but a knife had clearly been used to end the man's life.

Even after years of investigating murders, it never failed to unnerve him when he came upon a victim his own age. Uryuu shook off his anxieties and continued taking pictures of the rest of the house. A knife missing from the block in the kitchen. A bloody fingerprint in the bathroom. The crayon Orihime had found.

When he had made his way back to the body, something the trainee had said finally registered. The caller had 'done it _again_.' He turned to Orihime. "Inoue, do you remember the Kuchiki case a few weeks ago?"

Orihime nodded. "There wasn't enough evidence to convict anyone. We didn't even have a suspect." She cocked her head. "Why?"

"It was very similar to this one, wasn't it? The door was broken in, but there were no other sign of a struggle. A baseball bat was present where a knife was not. The scene was drenched with blood. There was something else odd about the Kuchiki case..."

"Her back?" Orihime offered.

"That's right." Uryuu shook his finger. "The killer carved a two into her back." He crouched down to prop the body up and lifted the shirt. "This is a three..." He gently guided it back to the floor. "He's counting them. There's another body out there." He looked at his partner. "We have a serial killer on our hands."

"Omigosh, that's so scary, Ishida-kun!" Orihime's eyes were wide. "Who's going to be the next victim?"

"We had better figure it out before he kills again."

"How are we s'posed to do that? The Kuchiki case is still open because we had no evidence. What makes you think this victim will give us any answers?"

"It's not a matter of how we catch him. We _have_ to catch him. It's the only option."

"Ooh, that's very wise, Ishida-kun. It gave me goose bumps." She thrust her arm at Uryuu. "See?"

He didn't see, however. He was looking at a much more interesting subject. An apparition floated above the body, a mirror image of it. "Inoue, do you see that?" Uryuu gestured toward the image.

Orihime squinted at the space he had indicated. "No... Am I supposed to?" She tilted her head to one side, then to the other. "Is this like those magic eye pictures?"

The vision of the dead man was staring at Uryuu, and the raven haired man barely managed to choke out his question. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." He glanced around the room. "Wh— What's going on? Did somebody die or something?"

* * *

Author's Note: :D I decided that I wasn't going to wait to rewrite this one. I need something to do, and this is fairly easy at this point. I'll probably have a few more rewritten shortly.


	2. Death's Dial Tone

"I was _murdered?"_

"Yes. Did you not see your body out there?" Uryuu leaned against the wall of the bathroom, keeping his voice to a whisper. "A slit throat isn't exactly a natural cause of death."

The apparition snorted. "_That's_ sensitive. Way to break it to the dead guy."

"You're clearly a figment of my imagination. Why should I take your 'feelings' into consideration?"

"Because I'm not a figment of your _anything_. I am Ichigo Kurosaki."

"No, you aren't! Ichigo Kurosaki is _dead._"

"That means nothing! Don't you believe in the afterlife?"

"My ideas on the afterlife don't involve remaining on Earth as a disembodied spirit."

"Maybe this is fate's way of helping you."

"When did the definition of helping change to 'induce hallucinations in'?"

"Maybe I'm here to help catch my killer. I mean, how often do you get an eyewitness account from the _victim_?"

Uryuu perked up. "Are you saying you can describe your attacker?"

The image furrowed its eyebrows. "Uh... no. He hit me from behind. The blow must have knocked me out."

Uryuu's face fell. "I don't know what I was expecting. It's not like your testimony could have been used in court."

"I do remember some things. It won't necessarily put the guy away, but it could at least help the investigation head in the right direction."

The raven-haired man sighed as he retrieved his notebook from his pocket. "It can't hurt. Go for it."

"Well... There was a really loud pounding on the door. I went out into the living room to open it. I thought Renji was finally home. I haven't seen him in ages..."

"Renji, your roommate?"

The vision nodded.

"Where has he been?"

"I have no idea. He went to visit his boyfriend and never came back."

"Who is his boyfriend?"

"Byakuya Kuchiki. He's a total asshole. I don't know why Renji is even dating him."

Uryuu stopped writing. "Did you say 'Kuchiki'?"

"Yeah..."

His mind whirred. "Was he related to Rukia Kuchiki?"

"She's his little sister. She and Renji were friends when they were kids. That's how he met Byakuya." The image paused. "_Was? _Is he dead?"

"No."

"Then why—"

"She is. She was murdered a few weeks ago."

"What?" The apparition's eyes were wide. "Why didn't I hear about this?"

"The case never went to court. We didn't have any evidence to lead us to a suspect."

"Still, I am— was an investigative reporter. I covered the crime section. I usually knew about stuff like this."

Uryuu shrugged his shoulders. "Somebody was making sure the story never made it to the press."

"I wonder why..." The vision looked at Uryuu. "Why did you even bring that up?"

"We think she was a victim of a serial killer."

"So?"

"We also think you were killed by him."

The image mouthed the word "oh." He looked stunned. "Why me?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

"A serial killer, huh? I didn't hear about that either. Guess I'm not as good a reporter as I though."

"I only just made the connection tonight. You and Rukia are the only victims we've found."

"How do you know it's a serial killer?"

"Numbers were carved into your backs. On hers was a two, and on yours was a three. Clearly, he's counting the victims."

"Doesn't that mean there's another body somewhere?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Who—" The vision was interrupted by a knocking on the bathroom door.

"Ishida-kun?" It was Orihime, her voice drifting through the wood. "Someone from the Karakura Sentinel is on the phone!"

Uryuu opened the door to find his partner. "Who's phone?"

"The victim's home phone. They're asking for him. What should I tell them?"

"Give me the phone, I'll talk to him." He took the phone from Orihime and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"

"_Kurosaki?"_

"No, this is Detective Ishida. What can I help you with?"

"_Where the hell is Kurosaki? He was supposed to be at work two hours ago!"_

"Work?"

_"Yes, work! What kind of detective are you? He writes the crime column for the paper. And he was _supposed _to be in the office today."_

"Sir, Ichigo was murdered late last night. Do you know who might have motive to kill him?"

"_He's dead?"_

"Yes, sir."

"_Crap. Where the hell am I gonna someone to replace Kurosaki? He was the best reporter this paper has ever seen!"_

"I'm sorry for your loss. Do you have any idea who might have done this?"

"_Everyone loved 'im. He was willing to go the extra mile for a scoop, though. Might have pissed off a few people on the way."_

"Do you have any names?"

"_Because I keep track of _everyone_ he's been in contact with. Look, I have to start looking for replacement. It's really a shame about that boy."_

"I'm sure it is. We'll do what we can to find the man who killed him."

"_You'd better. It's your job."_

"I—" Uryuu stopped. The dial tone was sounding; the man hung up. He turned to talk to Orihime, but found that she had already walked away. He turned instead to the image of Ichigo. "That was your boss." Uryuu's eyes widened as he realized just what that meant. "Your boss at the Karakura Sentinel. You really did write the crime column for the paper."

"Yeah, and?"

"You _really are_ Ichigo Kurosaki."

* * *

Author's Note: Woo. I'm like lightning. I rewrote the entire chapter. It's completely different. And it's epic. All in under three hours or so. :D

Although, I haven't decided how I feel about this chapter yet. I like it infinitely more than the old version. I just can't decide if I like it on it's own.


	3. PostMortem

Uryuu sat at his desk, the contents of the Kuchiki case file fanned out on top of it. He was writing down the similarities between his current case and the one in front of him. Exasperated, he turned to the figure hovering over his shoulder. "Why you? What connection do you have to the Kuchiki girl? What made the killer choose the two of you?"

The spirit shrugged its shoulders. "I didn't know her that well. I didn't even know she was dead."

"What about Renji? You said he was friends with Rukia?"

"Yeah, but I haven't seen him in a while."

"When was the last time you did see him?"

Ichigo furrowed his eyebrows. "What's today's date?"

"October..." Uryuu fished around on his desk for a calendar. "The 11th. Wednesday"

"It was maybe three weeks ago? Late September."

"That was a while ago. Did you file a missing persons report?"

"Renji does this kind of thing all the time. He won't come home for weeks at a time, and then all of a sudden he'll just show up on our doorstep. Acts like he was just home the day before." Ichigo sighed. "If I called the police every time he disappeared... It's just a waste of time. He always comes back eventually."

"His disappearance has to mean something. A week after he went missing, the girl died. And two weeks after_ that_, you get killed too."

"I'm telling you, he does this all the time. It's just a coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences."

Before Ichigo could reply, there was a knock on the door. Uryuu swiveled his chair around to face it. "It's open!"

A blonde man adorned with a green and white hat poked his head into the office. "Ury-chan! Mayuri request you in Autopsy."

Uryuu sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Urahara, I beg of you, stop calling me that."

The man grinned. "I could give you a much more ridiculous nickname, if you'd prefer."

Uryuu shook his head, gathering up all the various bits and pieces of the Kuchiki file. "Tell Kurotsuchi I'll be down in a minute."

"Mmkay, Ury-chan." With a wink and a grin, Urahara retracted his head and shut the door.

Uryuu paced the file in the center of his desk and turned back to Ichigo, still hovering over his shoulder. "You should wait here."

"I can handle it."

"If you say so."

--

"Blunt force trauma."

"What?"

"That's COD." Kurotsuchi turned the body's head and gestured to the large wound he had revealed. "Somebody with a lot of force and a blunt object shattered the skull and caused the brain to hemorrhage. He probably died within ten minutes."

"What about the lacerations to the throat?" Uryuu turned a page in his notebook.

"Post-mortem. As well as the ones on his back."

"The killed bashed the victim's head in, but still took the time to slit his throat and back?"

"Apparently."

Uryuu flipped back in his notes. "The autopsy report for the Kuchiki girl said the same thing. 'Blunt force trauma. Post-mortem knife wounds.'"

"There's something that isn't consistent with her report, though." Kurotsuchi picked up the body's arm and adjusted the lamp overhead until it illuminated the limb. "This man has bruising all over his body." He indicated a few purple spots on the arm. Letting it fall back on the table, he pointed to an area on the face of similar color. "See here? These were clearly caused by fists."

"Did he fight with the killer?"

"No. The freshest bruises appeared at least two days prior to death. Some of them are as old as two weeks. The killer couldn't have inflicted these injuries."

"That's odd..."

"It's not the only thing. Come here." The pale man guided Uryuu to a light box hanging on the wall. He turned it on and hung a few x-rays from the frame. "Several of his ribs have been broken. His cheekbone was fractured. His nose was also broken at least twice."

"He must have been in a lot of pain."

"Not at all. Every one of these injuries healed."

"But where did they all come from?"

Kurotsuchi handed Uryuu his report. "I believe that's your job, Detective."

* * *

Author's Note: I LIKE THIS A LOTALOTALOT 3 I'm really excited about rewriting this fic. It has a lot of chapters that just make me CRINGE. I still love writing the little autopsy scenes with Kurotsuchi. :D I like how I've already changed the story so much, and I've only rewritten the first three chapters XD

Objection! (I AM SUCH A DORK) I know there are currently some contradictions between the new chapters and the rest of the story. Get over it. For now. When I rewrite those chapters, I will fix said contradictions.


	4. Interrogation

Uryuu flung open the door of the roof, the only place where he could talk with Ichigo at the precinct. "What the _hell_ were those bruises from?" His voice was sharp and commanding.

"It's nothing. The guys that did this would never kill me. They wouldn't even _try._"

"Really, Ichigo? Then please explain to me what they _were_ trying to do when they beat you to a pulp!"

"I guess he was trying to ask me out."

"Wh—How—" Uryuu's hands were in front of him, fishing for the words he wanted. "In what universe does that make sense?"

"In his, apparently. It was his backup plan. Since the flowers didn't work."

"Stop sidestepping my questions and give me a straight answer! What did these guys do to you, and _why?"_

The spirit's hand found its way up the back of his neck and tangled in locks of orange hair. "Look, I'm telling you—"

"Ichigo!'

He sighed. "A while back, I met this guy a club and sweet talked my way home with him. He couldn't seem to grasp the meaning of the phrase 'one night stand.' I mean, I didn't even bother to remember the guy's _name_."

"You don't remember it at all?"

Ichigo bit his lip. "It was like... Grimm something or other. I would know it if I heard it."

Uryuu was already notebook in hand. "What did he do after that night?"

"He started _stalking_ me. He tracked me down somehow, and then he just started showing up at my apartment, at my work. He'd send me flowers, leave me notes. He kept asking me on dates, and I kept turning him down."

"Why didn't you file a restraining order?"

"I thought I could handle it. Though it's not like I could have if I wanted to. I never learned his name. How could I file a restraining order on him when I don't know his name?"

"When did the stalking turn into assaulting?"

"One day, he cracked and told me that I'd be sorry I ever rejected him. After that, I couldn't turn a corner without finding him in wait, ready beat the crap out of me and my friends. There was another man that would be with him sometimes. He was really pale, and he had these eerie green eyes."

"I don't suppose you caught _his_ name?"

"No, I was to busy getting my face smashed into the concrete to ask."

"Did you see any other men besides these two?"

"Sometimes, when the green-eyed freak didn't show, other people did instead. This loser with pink hair. Some guy with an eye patch. Another one that looked like he had a fishbowl over his head."

"Is there anything the men had in common? Things like tattoos or color choices..."

"They wore all white with black trim. And they'd tell me the same thing, every time: 'I'm only doing this for Aizen-sama.'"

Uryuu's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, did you say _Aizen?"_

"Yeah..." Ichigo spoke slowly. "Do you know him?"

"Sousuke Aizen is the head of one of the most dangerous organized crime syndicates in history." He headed toward the door and reached for the handle. "I really wish you'd have told me about this earlier."

Before Uryuu could himself, the door swung open to reveal Orihime. "Ishida-kun! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Whatever you need to tell me, can it wait? I think I have a lead."

"But Ishida-kun, we finally found Byakuya Kuchiki like you requested. I've been looking through pages of celebrity gossip sites for hours."

"Celebrity...?"

"Do you live under a rock? Byakuya Kuchiki is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood right now."

Uryuu sighed. "Great. I love dealing with celebrities."

--

"Talk to my manager. I'm too upset for interviews."

Uryuu flashed his badge. "We can make it an interrogation, if you'd prefer."

Byakuya turned around. "The police already asked me about Rukia." He looked Uryuu and his partner up and down. "Who are you two?"

"Detective Ishida and Detective Inoue." Uryuu pointed at himself and Orihime, respectively. "We're not here about Rukia."

Worry flashed on Byakuya's normally stoic face. "Don't tell me Renji's dead, too."

Orihime looked at Uryuu. "Is there a Renji related to this case?"

He nodded. "Renji Abarai, the missing roommate."

"What do you mean 'missing'? Where's my boyfriend?"

"I mean my team has yet to locate him. Have you seen him lately?"

"No... He was supposed to go to a movie premier with me, but he never showed. I called him, but his cell was off, and his roommate said he wasn't home. I figured he was just avoiding me, but if the police can't find him either..."

"When was the last time you did talk to him?" Uryuu's notebook and pen were quickly whipped out.

"The day of the premier. That was maybe three weeks ago?"

'That's consistent with what Ichigo told me.' Uryuu looked back at Byakuya, that thought reminding him of what he was investigating. "Did you know Renji's roommate very well?"

"Not really. I wasn't fond of him, and he didn't care for me. It was uncomfortable to be in the same room as the man. Why?"

"Because _he's_ the one that's dead."

"I'm sorry I can't tell you any more, but I really didn't know the man. Why are you even here?"

"His murder was uncannily similar to your sister's."

Byakuya arched an eyebrow. "Are you accusing me, Detective?

Uryuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I never—" He stopped; his phone was ringing. "Excuse me." He pulled the phone out of his pocket and pressed it to his ear. "Ishida." His eyes widened. "You did? I'll be right there." He snapped his phone shut.

"Where are we going, Ishida-kun?" Orihime inquired.

"Back to the precinct. They found the first victim."

"Who is it?"

"They haven't ID'd the body yet." Uryuu looked at Ichigo. 'But I have a hunch.'

Byakuya cleared his throat, reminding the partners that he was still there. "Are we done here, Detectives?"

"For now. We'll be back. This conversation isn't over."

As Byakuya watched Uryuu and Orihime leave, he rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it isn't."

* * *

Author's Note: I took down the rest of the chapters because it's confusing if you read the rewritten ones and then get to the old ones and are like wtf. Because I haven't gotten to some things as early as I did originally, and other things I got to earlier. It's kind of like I'm spoiling my story with itself. You know? And I just feel bad for the people who are missing parts of the story and get confused. So yeah.

Also, I like the way I did this much better. I just don't know if I like the chapter itself. That seems to be my dilemma every time.

P.S. Brownie points to whoever knows who Ichigo is talking about. :)


	5. Identity

Uryuu knew who the victim was immediately, not by his appearance, but by Ichigo's reaction to the body. The ghost froze, mouth falling open. As his hand gravitated to cover his gaping mouth, he whispered a single word. "Renji..."

Kurotsuchi glanced away from the body, having heard Uryuu enter the room. "Finally managed to drag yourself down here, Detective?"

"What's the verdict?"

"This is definitely your missing victim. Time of death's approximately twenty to twenty five days ago, making him victim number one." The heavily make-upped man shined a flashlight on the back of the body's head. "Blunt force trauma to the occipital bone. Wood splinters in the wound consistent with a baseball bat." He turned off the light and lifted the body up. "The number one is carved into his back."

"Confirming that this is the first victim."

"Yes. These cuts aren't as deep as the ones on the other bodies, though. Those wounds were inflicted with a heavy-duty kitchen knife, while _these_ probably came from a pocketknife or a box cutter. There are a few other differences." He laid the body back down. "The most obvious of which being his throat is not slit. He does have scrapes and bruises on his face. His nose is broken, and his cheekbones are shattered. He also broke several bones in his ankle."

"Ichi— the third victim had bruises and broken bones."

"His injuries had occurred days, even weeks prior to death. This victim's injuries are all from very shortly before he was killed."

"So what happened to this victim?"

"He was being chased in an alley or a side street. There were traces of pavement in his wounds. He tripped and broke his ankle. When he put his hands out to break the fall, his palms became scraped and wrists fractured. When he was on the ground, unable to run any longer, the killer hit him from behind. The force of the blow threw the victim's face into the concrete, breaking his nose and cheekbones."

"He took a real beating."

"And it proved inconvenient for the killer. That's why he slit the throats of the next two victims."

Uryuu finally grasped what Kurotsuchi was trying to say. "The killer didn't want to chase the other victims around."

Kurotsuchi nodded. "The victim was beaten thoroughly before he went down." He gestured to several large bruises on the body's face and stomach. "The killer might have walked away, thinking his job was done, when the victim got up and tried to run. He slit the next victims' throats as an extra precaution. It was a way to... ensure they were dead."

"Dead men tell no tales."

"Ah, but they do. They just need an interpreter."

--

"Ishida!" A short, white-haired man waved at the detective, trying to flag him down. His frame was dwarfed even further by the empty hallway of the precinct. "We identified the body in autopsy!"

Uryuu waited for the man to catch up, despite already knowing the name he had.

When he finally reached Uryuu, the man handed him a file containing the information he found. "Renji Abarai. His fingerprints were in the system. He was arrested a few years ago for assaulting an officer. Apparently, the officer was chasing a subject, and as he rounded a corner, he bumped into Abarai. Abarai claimed it was self-defense because he thought the officer was attacking him."

"Thank you, Hitsugaya."

"There's more. Some residue found in the third victim's apartment, the Kurosaki boy, was traced back to tree sap."

"Tree sap?"

Toshiro nodded. "Specifically, tree sap from a tree found solely in an area of Karakura operated by the Espada."

"Aizen's gang?" Uryuu sighed. "Damn."

"Is that a problem?"

"I was really hoping to avoid involving them."

"What are you going to do?"

The detective closed his eyes, massaging his temples. "We don't have enough to talk to Aizen yet. It would be useless to go now; we wouldn't get any answers. We'll wait and see if anything else connects to them. But now..." He opened his eyes. "I have to tell Byakuya that Renji Abarai is confirmed to be dead."

"Are you taking Inoue again?" Toshiro looked dejected.

"Why, would you like some field work, Hitsugaya?"

"I'm getting cabin fever cooped up in the office all day."

"Grab your gear, then, and meet me in the parking lot."

* * *

Author's Note: Bahaha, Toshiro. Bahaha. Okay, sorry. I actually wanted to write the last chapter for Various, but I already had the first half of this one written in my notebook. So I finished this one first. I hope that doesn't make the end to this chapter really bad, considering I didn't want to write it. I thought it was good though. (On a side note I ACTUALLY UPDATED O:)


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